Top competitors to the Cisco Catalyst 9000 Family

Between integration, deployment, support, and more, there’s a lot to consider when choosing the perfect switch to optimise your network connectivity. It’s important to respect that each network has unique requirements, and every switching model offers pros and cons to suit said requirements. But without further ado, here’s how the Cisco Catalyst 9000 compares to the top switches on the market, according to buyers’ reviews verified by Gartner.

Extreme Switching by Extreme

Although the number of reviews is lacking, the few Gartner users who have experience with Extreme Switching have incredibly positive things to say, with one user specifically mentioning that they chose it for its automation capabilities and ability to ‘’support normal office services, but also at the same very high levels of multicast traffic, building automation, security cameras, IoT etc’’.

The user who left such glowing feedback of Extreme Switching did propose something that could be construed as a negative, mentioning that the network provider was lacking in reputation when compared to the other hardware giants. Though up to personal preference, we would be inclined to choose the tried and tested Cisco Catalyst 9000 when selecting a switch. The collated responses from Gartner also suggested that the Catalyst 9000 offered easier deployment and integration.

Arista 7000 Series by Arista

Another high-performance switch option, Arista have really brought their A game with the 7000 series, and customers agree – between the easy deployment and great quality the Arista 7000 series is a great option for data center switching, especially when it came to their ‘’eager to help’’ support center. However, some users had issues with the ‘’lack of commands’’and general ‘’lack of portfolio depth’’. One user noted that Arista has occasionally been ‘’behind feature-wise, which has impacted our ability to leverage them with other solutions’’.

EX Switches by Juniper

Reliable, steady, with easy management. EX Switches by Juniper are an industry favourite according to Gartner users, and it’s easy to see why! However, some users noted a few complications when it came to initial configuration – and another user noted that cold boots both intentional and accidental often caused config corruption, and further commented on their sensitivity to power fluctuations.

Despite these reported faults, EX users were particularly appreciative of the extensive support offered by Juniper; but all this functionality comes at a cost.

Cutting the costs

Budgeting is often the deciding factor when it comes to hardware purchases, and although there is a wide range of mid-market switching solutions out there, it’s undeniable that the functionality seen from Cisco, Extreme, Arista, and Juniper makes the costs worth it.

The Cisco Catalyst 9000 offers the same functionality and support as all of these competitors, but did you know that with Cisco Refresh you can obtain as-new refurbished Cisco hardware for a fraction of the price, including the entire Cisco Catalyst 9000 range?

Get the best with Cisco Refresh

There are plenty of viable options for network hardware, and ultimately the choice should be based on your businesses requirements and budget, but Cisco Refresh means you can get Cisco refurbished switches for up to 75% off. All Cisco refurbished items operate under the same Cisco warranty, offer decreased lead times, and vastly reduce the environmental impact associated with buying new hardware.

Here at Chulo we are a Cisco certified refurbished seller, meaning we can offer Cisco authorized equipment to ensure the safety of your network. As a Cisco Premier Partner, we have access to the full Cisco Refresh inventory – so if you don’t see what you need on our online store, one of our Chulo specialists will be able to match you with the refurbished hardware perfect for your network.